Do you ever hate it when your name is attached to TV or film projects? It's the angst of hoping "James and the Giant Peach" doesn't get more popular as a movie than the book did. because you don't want to be asked about "The Giant Peach" all the time. Well, the latest one is up for me, "JJK Security"! AMC calls it a dramedy. Right there, I have major doubts creeping in.

The show chronicles a family-owned private security company in rural Georgia. AMC said the series was inspired “by what filmmakers like the Coen Brothers, Christopher Guest and Robert Altman have done capturing quirky, larger than life characters in the scripted realm,” and will make its debut in the third quarter of 2012.

I have plenty of time to work on my cringe face.

Meal of Links

Your Labor Day Weekend TV Marathons. A tossup between "BBQ Pitmasters" on Planet Green and Discovery Health's "Strange Sex". But I'll probably look at the Current "50 Documentaries" one that i missed.

Tracking the sales of Girl Scout Cookies. A sucker for Thin Mints, but hey, they ain't healthy.

Paul Westerberg is cordial. A rare interview.

As you probably knew, "Crankshaft" and a host of other strips will commemorate 9/11. Expect "Funky Winkerbean" to be extremely maudlin.

The true cost of 9/11. Just think of those dollars spent on war.

Coffee Jerks



The rich get richer. David Cross joins "Modern Family".

Red meat for the haters. Guy Fieri refused to wear long pants. Even in Alaska.

The Huntsman tax plan looks awfully intriguing. But many tax breaks are tossed, including the mortgage deduction.

NOLA preps for an odd storm. It is Tropical Storm Lee.

Topless Bollywood types.

All the foods we love have high calories. Pasta was Number One. The last time I made pasta, it was fusilli. No Kramer present.

Bruce Feldman winds up at CBS. This concludes one of the oddest personnel moves in the history of ESPN.

More Terrence Malick love. This time for the impossibly beautiful "Days of Heaven".

Exercise Yard

Finally the preseason is over. So, of course, the Browns start next weekend. Now, how many of these teams do the Browns play again. If they win against all of these Pretenders, maybe I'll have them winning more than 4.

Visitor

44 Across: Original Speed Stick Maker (6 letters) Answer: Mennen

By Mennen

The new sports station in town hit the airwaves today. It's 92.3 The Fan. And if you have suffered through listening to WKNR, there is finally an alternative.

I like some of what I heard today. I admit I was a big fan of Kiley and Booms when they were on Fox nationally. So, I'm sorta in the tank for those two. Some of their throwaway lines are the best. Like today when the Indians sent them a welcome basket of cookies and pastries and they implied a player had been cut to pay for it. Lots of folks hate Booms, but I like the chemistry these two have.

Andy Baskin is on middays and it sounds like they are still trying out partners for him. It had been announced that job was going to Jeff Phelps, but Reggie Rucker and Dennis Manoloff from the PD each pulled a 2-hour shift with Manoloff clearly the better of those two. The D-Man has overall sports knowledge that suits the show better.

Adam the Bull and Dustin Fox handle afternoons. Adam came from New York and really should do the show solo. Fox is too much of a novice right now. Too eager, needs to relax. He'll do fine on OSU, not much else.

So, there you have it. It's only Day One. Once the Browns get going, we'll know for sure where they are headed.

Meal of Links

MoviePass is back. Movie exhibitors still chafe at this idea. I'm not sure if this ever gets off the ground. If it does somehow ring popular, I can see the theatre chains offering this themselves.

"Curb Your Enthusiasm" locations. Cue the tuba!

My thing for Judy Greer continues. She joins "Two and a Half Men" as Kutcher's ex-wife. Sill on "Archer", which returns next month for a few shows after "Sunny" returns on FX.

was Irene overhyped? Deaths and damage say no. Is the feeling a bullet was dodged? Yes.

Exercise Yard

Tiger Woods will play the Frys.com Open. Now, before you say WTF?, this a move more golfers should pull.

Show up at minor tournaments (although this purse is $5 million) where you are perceived as the best golfer there. Play and win. Boosts attendance and player confidence.

When you hear golfers who "haven't learned how to win", this is a great strategy. Works for injured and mentally whipped golfers, too. No idea why it isn't employed more.

Visitor

6 Down: Quarterback Manning (3 letters) Answer: Eli

Storm damage, for sure, but Irene was nothing as predicted, right? My sense is that this got so much coverage because:

a) It was a weekend
b) New York was involved

I get the uniqueness of NYC being a target of a hurricane. But it seemed the networks were just aching to show some familiar landmarks engulfed by a natural disaster. Then they blamed the fact that Irene's landfall hit in North Carolina took some steam out of it, plus it tracked a bit differently after that. I'm no meteorologist and even I know when a storm makes landfall, it traditionally weakens.

Unfortunately on Saturday evening, I saw a Weather Channel clip where two guys said there was no way they couldn't see flooding in lower Manhattan near Wall Street. Mainly because of a storm surge and high tides. That didn't happen.

Oh well, at least I got to see Geraldo doing hurricane duty. On Broadway.

"Reggae On Broadway"/Bob Marley



Meal of Links

Errol Morris with a different twist this time. A book.

I wanna stay in a hotel. That's cheap and chic. Here you go.

"Good Eats" is wrapping up this week. Always an excellent show.

Exercise Yard

I saw Joey Barton at the Wigan-QPR match yesterday. They need him.

Visitor

None, on a cloudy, then sunny Sunday.

The men in my family took my niece to see the old alma mater take on Brooklyn. I don't even know what they call this rivalry these days. The Backyard Brawl? The Battle of Biddulph? All I know is Rhodes is dominating this series lately and won last night, 64-14. That's right they scored 64 points! Would have been 70 if they had a kicker or were not just 4 of 8 on 2-point conversions.

First of all, it's a pretty cheap night. $5 to get in, pop and pizza squares were a dollar and it's $1.50 for popcorn. But there seems to be a malaise hanging over the football games at Brooklyn. Clearly, the kids who go in don't even care about the game as they congregate and do their own thing seemingly miles apart from the game. The cheerleaders don't have any focus and don't seem too thrilled to participate. They have a mascot without any direction. The band doesn't seem fired up. If I were an administrator at the school, I'd be embarrassed, or at least concerned, about the overall production.

Shockingly, Rhodes actually had fans show up on their side. They have a band this year, as well. And the guys really play hard on the field. Seems like some good things happening there.

But, much like last year's game we attended, Rhodes had big plays all night. I mean plays you wouldn't think would result in 6 points. They led, 20-0, at the end of the first quarter and it was inconceivably 40-0 at the half. Rhodes only put the ball in the air three times that I recall. A stupid backward pass on the first play of the game that failed and resulted in a turnover. A beautiful two-point conversion that made it 20-0. And a failed pass attempt on a 4th down play late in the fourth quarter. Otherwise, they must have run for at least 500 yards. Seriously. Their big running back, Wall, totaled 116 yards on his first two carries and had TD runs of 94, 36, 55 and 3 yards.

Here were the TDs:

A 94-yard run (6-0)
A 64-yard run (12-0)
A 36-yard run (20-0)
A 70-yard punt return (28-0)
A 10-yard run (34-0)
A 55-yard run (40-0)
A 3-yard run (46-0)
A 15-yard run (52-0)
A 45-yard fumble return (58-7)
A 65-yard kick return to finish the game (64-14)

Needless to say, lots of fun to watch.

Meal of Links

Irene must be important because I see Wolf Blitzer on my TV. No Geraldo sighting yet, my favorite part of hurricanes. Details here. Mail was delivered in Virginia Beach today. Kudos.

Now I find this interesting. Fox, yes, Fox, the big network, will start showing tape-delayed EPL games on a few Sundays they don't have football doubleheaders. And on Super Bowl Sunday, Chelsea and Manchester United will be on Fox that morning. As long as Michael Strahan makes no appearances and my drinks are cold, that will be the start to a great day.

Do you have any of the !00 Most Sought-After Out of Print Books. Some interesting titles, but I don't have any of them. Although, I thought I had a copy of "Cards As Weapons' by Ricky Jay laying around here, but have his other book, "Learned Pigs and Fireproof Women". That's out of print, but not as popular, I guess.

How to discover new music. I still haven't had time to comprehend Spotify, but I will.

More "Louie". Although his Afghanistan looked a lot like the Korea of "M*A*S*H".

"Say Something Nice"



Upping the antihero. "Breaking Bad', "Psych" and "Dexter".

Exercise Yard

Ric Flair not only has trouble inside the ring, he's got huge issues outside the squared circle. A long history of failed marriages and financial turmoil.

Hey, my favorite sign from last week's show: "It doesn't matter what my sign says".

Visitor

3 Down: Country that eliminated the United States at the last two World Cups (5 letters) Answer: Ghana

I already have a deposit down on a new roof, so days like this remind me of why I need a new one. Probably will be done sometime in the next 3 or 4 weeks. Minor nuisance, but I expect nice weather until this thing gets constructed.

Meal of Links

Pawlenty gives up. That concludes an awful week for him. But he was a cipher as candidate.

A rather lengthy conversation with John Sayles. Maybe the last of the independents.

Julian Assange says the UK riots allow the government to trample more rights. Especially cyber rights.

Speaking of social media and "flash mobs'. Philadelphia has had a rough go lately. Mayor tells curfew-age kids to buy a watch. We don't have any apps with a BlackBerry, but we sure have encryption!

Exercise Yard

Choo is back. Fukudome is hitting similar to Beltran, thus far. Kipnis is tearing it up. Orlando Cabrera is now OPSing worse than when he was here.

Bullpen seems to be coming back around. Chris Perez with two easy saves in a row.

Although there was a rainout today, things are looking good at Progressive Field.

Can we start thinking about postseason? One weird thing about this year's early start, I just realized the season ends on a Wednesday and the ALDS starts two days later. And the only off-days in the playoffs are travel days.

Visitor

None, on a rainy Sunday.

Last night was a great opportunity to zip through the dial and see who gives you the best weather coverage. The combination of lots of storms and violent ones at that, allowed us to see who was at the top of their game.

Channel 3

Kling makes a strong case for being calm and not at all panicky. Although she kept using the phrase "place of safety", which I guess means your basement, closet or bathroom on your lowest floor. Not very compelling to see someone watching a computer, so they had the irritant of Ramona and then the 7:00 crew sit by and offer up some tidbits. Kling must have the stalkers though, because she showed her phone after receiving an alert from Channel 3 Weather. "I get alerts for Cuyahoga County because that's where I work. You can also choose additional counties. I have the "county where I live" and two adjacent counties, as well."

Channel 5

OK, Mark Johnson has the Power of 5 on his side. Too much begging for photos and interrupting the broadcast with them. Did a decent job, but had the line of the night, early on in the proceedings, when the wind and hail were issues for the western counties. "Three-inch hail? How'd you like that coming down on your car? Three-inch hail. How'd you like that coming down on your kids? What are they doing outside? Get'em indoors!"

Channel 8

Didn't linger here too much. But I did hear Andre Bernier at 7:45 mention we would not miss a minute of "American Idol". Even as storms were closing in on Cuyahoga Falls.

Channel 19

Easily the clusterfuck of the evening. It seemed that every storm chaser that went west got there after the storm had already passed. Tanchak had to redirect everyone eastward. The Vampire, Eddie Gallek, sent in some video that was not even legible. I guess they filmed from the car, but who could tell. Even Tanchak looked like he was gonna comment, but bit his tongue. Tanchak's highlight was demanding that a Tornado Warning be called for Portage County and actually said, "If the Weather Service is watching us...". No wonder they have no upticks in ratings when the weather turns sour.

Kling is probably the winner, with 5 and 8 reasonably close and 19 huddled somewhere in it's "place for safety".

Meal of Links

Friends of Jeff Bridges talk about Jeff Bridges. Good stuff.

Palin is making noise again about entering the fray. I'd like to see her in a legitimate Republican primary season with no holds barred.

Guinness does taste better in Ireland. Why? Crazy little thing called freshness.

Oh, boy. VH-1 decides it wants more "Pop-Up Video".

Outstanding. Mugatu will be back for "Zoolander 2".

Vermont adds another first. They go to single-payer health care.

The 10 Greatest War Movies. I've seen 9 of them. This is actually a very good list.

Gov. Kasich's poll numbers are pretty bad. And they are still dropping. I think part of it is he never seems happy. Always mad or grousing about something.

The Ted Williams Bio is on tonight. Wonder how that Cavs job is going.

Exercise Yard

It was rather interesting to see David Beckham back at Old Trafford for the Gary Neville Testimonial. The fans
still love him there.

Hey, I know it was a friendly, but he looked pretty good. Did a lot of passing to the opposite side of the pitch and was on target virtually all the time. And almost put in a free kick. Odd that he played the full 90 minutes, but they Probably figured if he got hurt, he doesn't play there anymore.

Visitor

2 Down: Baseball's "Old Perfessor" (7 letters) Answer: Stengel

Casey Stengel

Well, they said the airport got 8.9 inches of snow today and I firmly believe it. Because I shoveled it for a long period of time today. I had the plow come by twice today. The first time was the small deposit, as usual, at the end of the drive.

The second time? Yikes! It was as if the guy wanted to get to the exact measure of the curbside. I can't recall a dumping well up the driveway like that. I saw it up the street where he had not earlier because of a parked car and man, it just poured over the sides like a tsunami.

All we can do now is wait for the flooding.

Meal of Links

The Cavs made some interesting moves before the NBA trade deadline. But has the NBA become the EPL? There are parallels.

This may be why the App Store and Google Apps beat RIM's App World. It is a difficult process to become a developer.

50 ads starring Oscar winners. F. Murray Abraham and Richard Dreyfuss as tough New Yorkers. Dustin Hoffman for VW! George Clooney in a rather obvious Nespresso ad. Al Pacino likes coffee.

A look back at the movie version "Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas". Johnny Depp is perfect as Hunter S. Thompson. I thought the scene where Depp is thrashing away with the fly swatter was genius.

Ken Jennings is still talking about Watson. Trebek was not happy.

Sympathizing with both Chuck Lorre and Charlie Sheen. I expect Charlie to visit just about every radio show in existence.

Americans is stupid. Only 52% think the healthcare reform act is the law of the land. 22% of our idiots think it has been repealed.

Would you pay a congestion fee at the supermarket. If it gets you ahead at Disney, why not the Iggle?

What is the real Best Picture? I think my last pre-Oscar task is the Live Shorts on PPV.

Kathleen Parker finally leaves "Parker Spitzer". I happened to catch a snippet of a program earlier this week and it was uncomfortable to watch. Spitzer asked multiple questions of Libyan experts while Parker sat there calmly, adding nothing to the proceedings. This continued when Spitzer even took the audience to the commercial break, which I thought Parker would do, to remind people she was still there. Unwatchable.

Exercise Yard

While the owners and the NFLPA are still meeting with the mediator, what to do about that schedule? Should it be 18 games or go back to 16 game in 18 weeks?

I think we are on track for the Super Bowl to become a Presidents Day Weekend tradition. Which would supplant Black Thanksgiving and the already-moved Daytona 500.

Visitor

19 Across: Danish poker star Gus (6 letters) Answer: Hansen

What do you do when there is no real football (Pro Bowl doesn't count) since September? You watch TMZ Weekend and laugh your ass off. I don't see the daily show very often, because they keep moving it around locally. So the weekend effort is chock full of funnies.

Oh, I could also talk about the hefty lesbians in line in front of me (boy, were they jolly) at the grocery, but I'll save that for another day. If you thought fake laughing was rampant on NFL pre-game shows, you had to witness this.

And you see there is already a Winter Storm Watch posted for Monday night through Wednesday morning. Am I the only one who thinks these postings are coming earlier and earlier?

And, last night, I watched that old classic. "Bad Day at Black Rock". Man, they don't make 'em like that anymore.

Meal of Links

How many Twitter Revolutions have there been already? Stop it.

This is a no-brainer. I have tons of cable channels I don't watch. But it's probably time for Al-Jazeera English to be added.

By now, we should probably bank on this being truthful. That Spider-Man musical must blow hard.

Finally saw the Season 2 opener of "Archer" from last Thursday. Trust me, it has not lost a beat since last year.

Exercise Yard

Qatar had a test run for the World Cup by hosting the Asian Cup. The result? Uh, not so good.

Visitor

None, on a decent winter Sunday.

I'm ba-ack.

What happened while I was away?

President Obama made a speech at the Tucson Memorial on Wednesday that was fine. But I thought the crowd (i.e. the Arizona students) were completely off the mark with their reactions. I mean, it was a memorial, not a pep rally. And the Native American blessing was straight out of the SNL playbook. With a National Anthem singer who looked like Glenn Beck...well, there you go. This touches on issues I had with the whole thing. Especially about the "rain puddles".

Pat Shurmur was hired as Browns coach. And Browns Version 2.5 begins. I guess we're running a 4-3 and Shurmur will call his own plays. That's about all we learned about Shurmur at yesterday's presser, along with his Eric Wedge-like use of the word "process".

And they finally broke ground on the Medical Mart yesterday. Glad to see the uninvolved like Kasich and Fitzgerald grabbing a shovel.

I craved beer all week, so I requested this song at the Happy Dog.

"I Like Beer"/Tom T. Hall



Meal of Links

Pope John Paul II is getting closer to becoming a saint. I guess he performed a miracle somewhere down the line. But you need two. Lemme guess, we'll hear about that soon after the beatification.

Football's chattiest announcers. Number One is Kevin Harlan, who I really like. The least? Kenny Albert, who I cannot stand.

Best docs of 2010. Ebert's doc picks. The Most Underappreciated Movies of 2010.

I forgot to mention this. Queensland is flooded and it's Brisbane, as in Lisbon. Not Bris-bane.

"Hannah Montana" is over. The problem I have with this show is it gives kids free reign to say unfunny stuff.

The TV press is out in Cali with all of the networks. Interesting news from Showtime. "Californication" is renewed, I don't watch this very much. "Dexter" is said to have a "long shelf life". And they are going to do a "24/7" HBO-like series on the San Francisco Giants next year.

The real genius of "Real Genius". This movie has grown on me over the years.

Should the idea of death threats on Sarah Palin be scrutinized. You betcha.

Tunisia is all fouled up.

Exercise Yard

More NFL Playoffs today. This weekend has three of the four games looking good on paper, and I think Chicago-Seattle will surprise, as well.

The picks (and I can't believe I have three road dogs):

Ravens +3
Packers +2.5
Patriots -8.5
Seahawks +10

Visitor

14 Down: Jim with 589 lifetime homers (5 letters) Answer: Thome "Essentially, Thome last season had the best hitting season for any part-time player since World War II. And by a lot..."

On the Seventh Day of Christmas

Really, is there any better modern Christmas song? Actually, I'm surprised at how well it holds up year after year.

"It's Christmas time in Hollis Queens
Mom's cooking chicken and collard greens
Rice and stuffing, macaroni and cheese
And Santa put gifts under Christmas trees."

"Christmas in Hollis"/Run D.M.C.



OK, all the Christmas cards have been written. All of the presents have been wrapped. Sorry to those who have stuff on backorder. I'm frustrated as I ordered early. The Christmas tunes are currently blasting. With this one on right now! I love the Vandals.

"How come, he always calls me "Kate"
and forgets his dentures on his dinner plate?"

Be nice to Grandpa, folks.

"Grandpa's Last Xmas"/The Vandals



Meal of Links

It's cold everywhere. Europe is distressed. And they cancelled all but two of the English soccer matches this weekend.

Ricky gets serious...just for a moment. Why he's an atheist.

It's science. Einstein was right.

The Senate is actually continuing to work. Due to some pretty pointed news coverage last week (Jon Stewart and Shepard Smith), the 9/11 First Responders Bill may get through. Voted down last time, changes made late. Let's hope.

Minimalism heroes. I like it.

How about renting a Christmas tree. it can be done.

Exercise Yard

It's taken me a few hours to digest today's Browns game. Losing to a team that had not won since September. Then lost its two primary receivers. Add it to the ever-increasing long list of disappointments from this team upon their return.

What did we learn today?

I think we may have seen the end of the Eric Mangini Era. I've concluded he gives way too much power to his coordinators. Today, the Browns could not stop the fuckin' run to a team that ranked 30th rushing the football. At what point do you take the headphones off and demand Rob Ryan fix that problem? I think Ryan's been overrated since he got here. Fans like his long hair and his boiler and the fact that his brother dressed like him. But the last two weeks have been awful defensively. Can Scott Fujita have meant that much to this defense?

End of the first half was a nightmare in clock management. Still can't figure out why, with 16 seconds left, the Browns were going to go for it on 4th-and-7. Then, after a five-yard penalty, decided afterward not to go for it. Complete the 12-yarder, if you can, and kick a FG. You had the timeout available. Inexcusable.

Colt McCoy was probably better-than-average today. Best on the first and last drives of the day. But they didn't exactly have the ball for a lot of time today, as the Bengals dominated possession after the first quarter. The Browns only had 43 plays.

Today's game makes you wonder what horrors lie ahead when the NFL moves to an 18-game schedule. We had a season that only 5 weeks looked promising. Since that point, it's been a slow crawl to the inevitable disappointment of every Browns season.

Wins in the next 2 games means a 7-9 season. Unfortunately, it looks the Ravens and Steelers need these games to position themselves for a playoff run.

I thought Mangini was a cinch to return next year. But his coordinators have failed him the last two weeks and we may be in for another overhaul. Let's hope not.

The Browns fail miserably, 19-17.

Visitor

None, on a cold Browns Sunday.

On the Fourth Day of Christmas

It's hard to find this song. No, not his version of "Sleigh Ride", that is just a bonus. And who is Andy driving in that sleigh, the New Christy Minstrels? Check out those high-tech special effects, too. The guy in the front looks like some sort of hipster doofus.

But since Capital One Bowl Week starts tomorrow, it's time to dust off an Andy Williams classic, "The Most Wonderful Time Of The Year". Not Christmas until you hear this one. The production itself kinda blows, but everyone eventually moves after Andy throws Angel Dust on everyone. 1965 was a much simpler time, eh?

"Sleigh Ride"/"It's The Most Wonderful Time Of The Year" Medley/Andy Williams



Bob Feller died at age 92 last night. Strangely, he was such a redass, I thought he'd never die. If you get chance, take a look at the front page of the PD today. They have the most beautiful photo of a young Feller with the high leg kick at an empty Cleveland Stadium. They could not have picked a better one. For some reason, they do not include that in this online collection, although some of those are pretty cool. Joe Pos has the perfect tribute. Certainly, he was the greatest Indian of them all.

1936 Bob Feller (Oscars All Around!)



Meal of Links

Pick-up lines. Some as bad as you might think.

Probably too much time on their hands. Someone built the Swamp from M*A*S*H in their backyard.

AV Club has the Worst Movies of 2010. But wait, there's more. They also have the Best Movies of 2010. The bad on the list I've seen: "Marmaduke". The best on the list I've seen: "Shutter Island", "Inception", "The Social Network" and "Winter's Bone" (Their Number 1). Next 2 weeks is catchup time.

Alert the seniors. Sweet Moses, an old-timey soda fountain, opens up soon. Mr. Negative's response: "Get ready for five dollar milk shakes."

"Pulp Fiction"-$5 Milk Shake



Biden says, "Bah, humbug!" Especially those R's who are crying about working til Christmas.

It was a pretty hot year in 2010. 129 degrees in Pakistan? That's a bit steamy. BTW, I didn't have much snow here earlier in the week. Worked from home on Monday because it was blowing all over the place. But when all was said and done and done. Maybe about 4 inches. Working in Hudson though, wow. They and Twinsburg were in that 18-24 inch area. they didn't have the roads back to normal until yesterday and it was still flurrying there yesterday afternoon.

Why Jews eat Chinese food on Christmas. Looks good.

Another death today. This one, Blake Edwards. He leaves a litany of well-known films, with some of them rated as great.

Exercise Yard

What if you could redo the NFL Draft? Why, it's a Christmas Miracle!

Visitor

33 Across: Ding Dong relatives (5 letters) Answer: Ho Hos

I'm not naive enough to think that language never evolves and we must adhere to the old rules. Although the old rules are pretty good. Take for instance the great unwashed having difficulty with "gone" and "went" these days.

But the next person who utters something like, "That's the biggest surprise of my entire life...", I am gonna throw down with that person. Listen. your life doesn't need a descriptor. As in, "That's the biggest surprise of my life..."

I've warned you. Thanks!

Here are some recent photos.

Proof I went to Tim Hortons last week. Timmah!





















Not sure I mentioned the Petting Zoo at the Pumpkin Show. Uh, for an extra $5, you could ride a camel!





















Yes, the sky was kind of odd tonight. Started as a pumpkin color with a rainbow to the east and then wound up like this.

















Meal of Links

Want to go broke slowly? Have a kid.

God help us. This year's Rose Parade grand marshal? Paula Deen. Do they want people not to watch?

You just can't step on a woman's head. Has it really come to this?

Finally. A school system with some guts. No snow days! In Ohio, they have dropped the amount of snow days from five to three.

The Jon Stewart event looked like a great thing to attend. But where are the details?

Exercise Yard

Paul the Octopus died today. The world will miss him.

In honor of Paul, we take a moment for this...

Amazing Grace on a Vuvuzela



Visitor

58 Down: Archvillian Luthor (3 letters) Answer: Lex

I'm always looking for new recipes. I had some chicken thighs I had to use up by today. So, I tried this one that was sort of a KFC knockoff. I used the "GFC" version, as I didn't have any MSG. Very nice. Easy directions on the video. Speaking of cooking chicken...

Christopher Walken Cooks Chicken and Pears



BTW, did you know Henry Ford invented the charcoal briquette? Then he gave it to a relative named Kingsford.

Meal of Links

Another Pierogi Fest has ended. I'd like to go this thing once, but it's always so damn hot this time of the year.

These are cool. 50 clever logos.

Next up in DC. The Bush tax cuts.

"Inception" is not the first movie to keep audiences guessing. "Rosebud".

The Army Corps kinda fucked up in the Nashville Flood, admitting to 27 mistakes. Senator says, "I know Boy Scout troops that are more prepared than this."

Tony Hayward leaves BP. To be replaced by an American.

Exercise Yard

The dreaded "team orders" reared its ugly head once again in Formula One. This time at the German Grand Prix. It's supposed to be illegal and Ferrari has done it again.

Visitor

None, on a cooler Sunday.

While tooling around the Internets the other day, I came upon this fall release on a bookshelf. Has there ever been a more appropriate title than "Badasses: The Legend of Snake, Foo, Dr. Death and John Madden's Oakland Raiders".

Of course, we know Snake is Ken Stabler. Dr. Death is Skip Thomas and Foo is Phil Villapiano. Villapiano got his nickname because some player couldn't pronounce "Phil" and it kept coming out as "Foo". I'm sure it'll all be in there. Jack Tatum as the "Assassin", Chuck Noll saying that George Atkinson was a "criminal element who should be kicked out of the league." I'm sure they will bring up stickum, Raiders linemen greasing their jerseys, Ray Guy and his overinflated footballs.

One of my favorite Raider stories from back then is John Madden goes into the bathroom and he sees Ted Hendricks. Hendricks is known to most NFL fans as "The Mad Stork", but his Raider nickname was "Kick'em in the Head Ted". Hah! Anyhow, Madden sees Hendricks throwing a ten-dollar bill into a toilet. Madden asks him what the hell is he doing and Hendricks says, "You don't think I'm goin' down there for only a quarter, do ya?"

If you ever get a chance to see any of those NFL Films that feature the Raiders from that era, they are the most entertaining of the lot. They are the only team that had their own theme song.

The Raiders: Autumn Wind, Theme and the Holy Roller



I cannot wait for this one.

Meal of Links

I saw "Salt" today. I didn't know that the Regal had been converted to one of those cooling centers for seniors. They could have called me "Sonny" out there. Anyhow, "Salt" was decent enough. The small semblance of a plot is easy to figure out. But we get Jolie running. A lot. Jolie handy with a gun. A lot. See, she was a CIA agent. But is she a Russian agent? It appears to be the case.

How could they not track those lips while they are chasing her? Maybe because she's blond, then dark-haired, then wearing an expensive hat and coat on the Staten Island Ferry. Huh? But the action, when we get it, is top-notch. Did I mention Jolie running? She is jumping from vehicle to vehicle during a chase. Then we get a cool attempted killing at a state funeral, which will make you think twice about delivering a eulogy. A ridiculous view of White House security, which is beyond bad, for the sake of the movie, of course. I'd like to know who voted for the President in this movie. But we get Jolie kicking people, shooting people, and then culminating with one of the best screen deaths I've seen in a while. That death shows how flexible Jolie can be. This is definitely matinee/borderline full fare material.

My Dad and I had dinner at Bucci's Brick Oven, because I had a coupon that was about to expire. Hadn't been there in a while, but the margherita pizza was outstanding and I think I have two extra meals out of it.

Bernie Sanders says no to oligarchy. "The 400 richest families in America, who saw their wealth increase by some $400 billion during the Bush years, have now accumulated $1.27 trillion in wealth."

Look out. The theme to Hawaii Five-O will be everywhere.

All about "American History X". I happened to catch some of this about a month ago and Edward Norton is still shockingly great in this role.

Mindful of I-71 through town. Take a look at freeways and the decline of Saint Louis.

Cap-and-trade is dead. For now.

Kings of Leon get crapped on in Saint Louis. Literally. Wow, two items from Saint Louis in one day.

How to be an active listener. I try, I really try, to listen to what other people say. I think I'm good at it.

Has it really come to this? Rent A Friend.

The Latest Fixed Fight



"He's not even a canine!" It's like wrestling.

Here is one mean traffic cop. Drive carefully.

This guy really likes his In-N-Out Burger. BTW, the GM of Whitey's had his burger recipe in the PD last month and it was really good. I recommend that one.

Sharron Angle RUNS AWAY From The Press



Tight schedule, my ass.

Hopefully, you were able to share in some of the rain yesterday. The Big Picture takes on stormy skies.

Exercise Yard

Break up the Tribe! Going into today's play, the Indians (in Wedge-like manner) have finally caught the Kansas City Royals in the standings. You know, those Royals. The team that leads the major leagues in hitting.

Joe Pos puts his finger on, despite the hitting, what is wrong with the Royals. And why don't the Indians try and grab Kila Ka’aihue from their minor league roster?

Visitor

1 Across: Co-star of TV's "Chuck" (11 letters) Answer: Adam Baldwin

Not much going on today, but anything recent about Mel Gibson is good for a laugh.

Here is a recut version of a trailer for "What Women Want". It's NSFW, but oh so funny.

Meal of Links

Michael Mann is doing a series for HBO called "Luck". It's about horse racing! I hope it's good.

Tomorrow, seven men who had been missing in Burma during WWII are being buried at Arlington. Good news for the families. 66 years...it's really a touching story.

I happened to see "Barton Fink" last week. Favorite line: "You're a sick fuck, Fink." But NASA confirms it. Just like the movie, it's hot.

Are the democrats close to officially throwing in the towel on the economy? Some think that happened 18 months ago, while waiting for Franken and Specter to get closer to 60 in the Senate.

The Stagliano obscenity trial has started. You can follow it here.

Exercise Yard

IndyCar actually gets new cars for the 2012 season. Also, an increase to 24 races. I don't see Cleveland mentioned. Let's face it, the only potential local sponsor with the necessary cash is Progressive.

Visitor

51 Across: '70s Robert Blake cop show (7 letters) Answer: Baretta

"Baretta" Theme

I saw the neighborhood skunk tonight. It was about 10:00 and I was pulling out of the driveway and there it was about four houses down on the tree lawn. Just sniffin' around for some bugs. Looked pretty big, too. When I returned, I saw some walkers and wondered what the hell would you do if you didn't see it quick enough and then there it was. Probably get to the other side of the street quickly, I imagine.

Hey, I finally tested my lawn mower for a minute or two yesterday, with the first real usage coming tomorrow. As I mentioned, it is a Craftsman, but the first thing that jumps out at you is how light it is. Now the old-timers would say it's cheap construction and they may be right. Lots more plastic involved. And I'm not sure the bag is as big as my old one, although the emptying of it is much easier. But I must say, the self-propelling is much, much better on the new one. The designers and manufacturers have done a lot in the last 13 years or so.

Meal of Links

SoapNet died. I guess DVR killed the daytime-at-night network.

The FreeCreditReport.com band is breaking up. Relive the bad ones. "Ren Faire" reminded me of a Men Without Hats video. But the original still puzzles me. The guy had his identity stolen, so he had to work at a seafood restaurant?

Here is your World Cup calendar. All in a neat format in Spanish. By date, group, team, venue. Also, a nice read on Maradona. "Hand of God or Brain of Idiot?" for this year's Cup.

How to take photos of a cool place. Without those annoying people interfering.

To channel Tanya Roberts: "The grill is calling." I will get my weekend provisions soon.

HBO has been running this a lot lately. But with the return of the Philadelphia Flyers to the Stanley Cup, you may wanna watch "Broad Street Bullies". I think do they do a great job of conveying how hated those teams actually were. Today, people may dislike the Yankees or Celtics and think they hate them, but back then people HATED the Flyers.

Remember the volcano that erupted in Iceland a while back. There was talk of that even bigger volcano. Well, that looks like it is going to erupt.

Oh, no. As if that wasn't enough bad natural disaster news, here come the hurricanes!

Do you know who Rickey Minor is? I know he's no Simon.

Crime has dropped a lot since the 1970's. And there are some clear reasons for it.

This reporter steals a favorite line of mine. Can you guess which one?

Ozzy, You Devil!



Exercise Yard

A Cleveland fan looks back at Tony Horton. Many great references including Banner Day (Yes, they had that), Camera Day (That, as well) and, of course, the Folly Floater.

Visitor

5 Across: Center of Cleveland? (5 letters) Answer: O'Neal

Time to catch up:

Absolutely fantastic weather lately, so with the afternoon off, I had to fire up the grill. You don't get to say I am having shrimp on the barbie very often. But I said it today.

You know it's spring when you can hear the grunts of the neighborhood mentally-challenged kid.

I hate to bring this up, but you know me. The other day, I was at Subway for lunch. I usually get a roast beef because it meets the healthy sandwich requirements. Anyhow, I'm behind a guy who KNOWS THE NAMES OF THE EMPLOYEES!!!!! Says hello to the order taker, than the first veggie person. Seriously. I've been going for there for years. I don't know their names and I'm pretty sure I do not want to know their names. He was also talking to a corporate bigwig who happened to be in front of him, so I had to hear all of his plans for Easter weekend. As he was finishing with the cookies, it was then the old, "Today, I'm gonna have...". How come God works in mysterious ways, except when I'm in a line?

I went to see "The Ghost Writer" the other day. It was the first time I bought a beer at a theatre (they had Magic Hat!). I said bought, not brought. It was also the first time in a long time, I had a private showing. Yep, I was the only one there. Too bad, because it was a really good movie by that Roman Polanski guy. Pierce Brosnan was a former Prime Minister of England who was writing his memoirs and Ewan McGregor was his ghost writer. It was interesting how many characters surprised me on their entrance. Hey, there is Duncan from "The Class" as McGregor's agent. Hey, who's that bald head of the publishing company? Why, it's Jim Belushi. Then it's Kim Cattrall with a British accent. Then it's Olivia Williams who seems to be taking the Emma Thompson/Kristin Scott-Thomas roles lately (she was in "An Education"). Eli Wallach...still alive. And, finally, even Tom Wilkinson shows up! It's at the Capitol for another week.

Our favorite Polka DJ heads to Buffalo for Dyngus Day on Monday (third graph from bottom).

Time Warner Cable finally made the channel switches this week on my box and the Navigator seems to work better for me. They added NHL Network and Fox Soccer Plus and I succumbed to their siren call. It's only 5 bucks. That eliminates one trip a month to Subway, which was perfect timing on their part.

Meal of Links

Why buy an iPad? I'm very happy with my new laptop.

Anna Paquin says she's a bisexual. Or is it she just can't make a decision?

Andy Rooney still reads the funny papers. Good God, I think I could take his job.

Movies with the worst opening weekends. Did not pay for any of them, although I thought about "Astro Boy".

There is a new "King of Kong". I sense a rumble.

Best Friend alerted me to this methane bubble. I'm not weirded out by the bubble, but I am taken aback by the overzealous farmer who wants to pop it with his knife.

Everybody loves flyovers, but here are the 10 best flybys. The guy in Number 3 has, as Jerry Caesar would say, "balls the size of church bells".

"Here come those Santa Ana winds again."

Exercise Yard

It's getting closer to the time I actually think about the Indians. Leitch wrote this about 6 weeks ago. How true.

Visitor

4 Down: Hockey Hall of Fame nickname (4 letters) Answer: Espo

While enjoying the start of the snow melt today, a couple of things bugged me. I was at Big Lots (don't ask!) and the woman at the checkout line says, "It looks like it's starting to melt out there." I said, "Yeah, that's a good thing." She replies, "I hear another storm is coming on Tuesday." WTF? I hadn't heard that (personally, I think she's nuts), but why pee on my parade with that "Woe is me!" crapola.

And with that melt, opportunities arise to have your driveway fully removed of snow again. But the plow not only came by this morning, but again this afternoon, defeating all of us who thought we were done once more. This time with the big snow boulders.

The Olympics ended today with an epic hockey game, but I still have not heard a reasonable explanation almost 2 weeks later on the Men's Moguls. Remember, the first Canadian gold was going to go to a woman in their Moguls event. Last one on the hill is an American, who eventually crushed the Canadian celebration, by winning.

The Men's Moguls had a similar setup the next night, if you recall. The Canadian, who had a brother with cerebral palsy or something, is leading with only one more person left. That dude is a Frenchman, who just blasts down the hill, in what they say is the fastest time of all the runs. Surely, Frenchie may not win, but certainly he's gonna medal. Well, his judging goes up and they say he finishes SIXTH! What the hell just happened? Since it was Canada's first gold, the announcers focus on that fact and leave at least one viewer, me, completely flummoxed.

Compounding that mishap, they showed it again tonight on the recap show and I still haven't received an adequate answer.

Meal of Links

US manufacturing is not dead. It just seems that way.

Hey, MSNBC, Nature is not out of control. You shoddy journalists, you.

Do vacations make us happy? I fall into the "Hell, yes!" category. However, it seems the real happiness comes in the planning and and anticipation before the vacation. And, yes, I will post about Kauai. The photos are still in the camera, etc.

Exercise Yard

canada wins at their game.

Visitor

None, on a snow-melting Sunday.

What did we learn today?

Geoff Bodine still makes a mean bobsled. A gold-medal bobsled, BTW.

She sure sounded like a nice lady, but while watching tsunami coverage, I was struck by the irony of a stuttering seismologist on MSNBC.

Remember it's not the first wave of a tsunami, it's the second wave. Or perhaps even the third wave you need to worry about. Or is it the fourth?

I'm not Mr. Foreign Relations, but why does Chile insist they need no help with that massive earthquake? Don't throw out this canard of "everything's under control", while admitting most of your highways and half a million homes suffered major damage. There is a thing called Haiti Fatigue and if you wait a few days to ask for help, sorry, you've missed your chance.

A set of curling stones costs $7,000.

Best sign at curling tonight: "That's gold, Johnny. Gold."

Aaron Ramsey of Arsenal had his leg broken above the ankle on a bad challenge today against Stoke. Even the players were immediately grossed out. I'm not gonna post the pic, but it is described everywhere as a "horrific". Lemme tell ya, it was the old tib-fib. I had that same injury, a bit higher on my right leg, and for me, it was the sound of the break that I'll never forget. Not good when things end up pointing the wrong way. And with his injury more towards the ankle, it was not pretty. They wouldn't even show the replay. Oh, they'll show dead lugers, but not this.

It still sucks when the plow ruins your great job of shoveling.

Meal of Links

Carly Simon says it's David Geffen in "You're So Vain". Wow, why not just carry that one to the grave.

Olympic pictograms. Some of these are pretty lame.

A comeback for Leonard Cohen's "Hallelujah". Or should I say another comeback. It won't go away.

Dermot Mulroney gets to play Jim Rockford. Can that really be a good thing? Well, if he gets that role, I wanna be Angel Martin.

Rockford's Answering Machine: "Jimmy, old buddy, buddy. It's Angel! You know how they allow you one phone call? Well...this is it."

"Life In Quarantine". I like the bin part at the end.

Another thing I have to fret about. Wheat fungus. Not among us. Yet.

Exercise Yard

I was at the final CSU home game this afternoon (I like how the tsunami was scheduled, so I had plenty of time to kill) and they pulled out a thriller against Wright State. So, we get a home playoff game on Tuesday. CSU wins, 68-63.

Visitor

39 Across: Upset winner at the 1992 Kentucky Derby (7 letters) Answer: Lil E Tee

Did you ever find yourself having to buy an item you normally don't think about? Because today, I had to buy a toilet seat. Now, replacing a toilet seat seems like it's mundane, and you're right. Who really wants to bother with that stuff.

First, you have to figure out where to buy one. Of course, Lowe's and Home Depot come to mind and I chose Lowe's, simply because they are closer. Next is color. Well, that's easy because I needed white. Next is brand. Well, my toity is a Kohler and why not stick with them? Next is what size. You have elongated and round toilet seats and honestly, I don't care, but you need to know which one you need. I needed round, which is slightly smaller than the elongated ones. I'm assuming your various handicapped lounges, as I like to call them, probably offer elongated. Seems simple enough, eh?

Well, go to your local outlet and there is the Murderers Row of toilets. American Standard, Bemis, Kohler. The seats displayed in all of their whiteness or woodness or biscuitness. Eventually, I was sticking with Kohler and went with a $20 round version.

Then you have to take the old one off. The joys of working in one of your favorite areas of your home. And, by God, don't drop anything. Make sure you have a wrench and adequate left hand prowess for unscrewing the old one. Screw in the new one and then you're good to go. Literally.

Makes for a nice weekend diversion.

Meal of Links

Really? Someone put out a hit on Jon Cryer. That sounds like it will end up on an MSNBC Saturday afternoon show.

Rainy mood. Put on some Bruce Hornsby as accompaniment and your day is made.

Male villain seeking a female arch-enemy.

Palmer Cortlandt died. "Cortlandt was a ruthless bastard who lied and cheated to get what he wanted." Now that's a soap actor.

Stray dogs in Moscow. They are pretty sharp. Some even ride the Metro.

Birds-Eye Views



Exercise Yard

Prince's Vikings Fight Song. BTW, go with the Saints and Colts tomorrow.



Remember when the Browns (and Dick Enberg) were good?



What a highlight! Kosar running! Metcalf throwing! Manoa faking! Ozzie Newsome streak ending!

Visitor

58 Across: Big name in falsetto (5 letters) Answer: Valli

"Rag Doll"/Four Seasons